WDW before or after cruise? Thoughts?

[Disney_Princess83]

I prefer it after. Lessens the depression of having to leave the ship.

This. We are so sad to be leaving the ship, that we prefer the cushioning of returning to the parks afterwards.

 

[RedSox68]

We now prefer before, having done WDW three times pre-cruise and finding it exhausting. If done before, you can relax on the cruise.

 

[PrincessTess]

After. On the last morning, we always look at the resort buses while getting on the airport bus and wish we were on one headed to WDW

 

[CamColt]

We usually go first and head home right from the ship but last year we did 4 days in WDW after our cruise. I enjoyed it! It lessened the depression of leaving the ship and actually gave us something to look forward to. The last night on the ship wasn't as sad as it usually is. IMO, both ways have pluses and minuses. I'd go by what works for your travel dates best.

 

[LoverDisney]

We are going to WDW after our cruise. This is our first cruise so I don't know whether before for after will be best. Since we are going on a 3 day cruise I wanted to lessen the sting of leaving the ship so we that we have something to look forward to. We'll try it and see.

 

[Churchladychurchlady]

We're doing after - mainly because hubby works a high stress job, and I figure the cruise will be a super-injection of relaxation for him, so he can be in a vacation sort of mind when we get to the parks. I'm hoping the Disney Dream will work some magic on him!

 

[kiford]

WDW before or after the cruise? The simple answer is: Yes. But it depends.

Our most preferred of all options is both. Four or five days prior, cruise, then 2-3 days afterwards. You can see WDW before the cruise - longer hours, more tiring, lots of walking. Then a relaxing time on the cruise. Then instead of sadly heading to the airport right after the cruise, there is the anticipation and pleasure of a few more days at WDW but taken a bit more leisurely than before the cruise. More time spent sitting around the pool, shorter days, just taking in a few of the things maybe missed before the cruise, maybe just doing more of the show-type things with less standing in line. Then I'm ready to go back home.

Secondary preference is WDW before the cruise and then the cruise. It's sad to head from the ship to the airport but at least your last memories are one of relaxation.

This year, the schedule will only allow cruise first and then WDW. But this will be our 10th time at WDW so we know it well and were there for 9 days last year and will probably go next year or the year after again. We intend to spend lots more time in lounges, late mornings, pool time, etc. We're meeting up with some friends who are local so will probably spend lots of time just sitting and talking. So although it's more go, go, go than a cruise we expect and intend for it to be more leisurely than usual.

So which is preferable? All of them but in different ways. It very largely depends on how you intend to structure your days and your time. Any combination can work - question is: what do you want to do?

 

[CamColt]

So which is preferable? All of them but in different ways. It very largely depends on how you intend to structure your days and your time. Any combination can work - question is: what do you want to do?

Perfect answer!

 

[mernin]

We have both planned for Feb. We've never cruised before but the thought of just 1 or 2 days before or after just wasn't enough for us so we have 1 before & 2 after. It will be interesting which we prefer after we try it out.

 

[Jennifer777]

We've done both and here are our thoughts on it.

The positives of each were...
Pre-cruise was nice because we have to fly in early, so why not stay at WDW and start our Disney trip a couple days early getting into the spirit. We also used this opportunity to get our daughter into the BBB so we didn't have to waste time on the ship getting this done. With all the walking around, it kind of got our excitement out of the way and we were tired and ready to relax and be pampered on the cruise.

Post cruise was nice because we were so much less sad getting off the ship knowing our vacation wasn't over. After a week of relaxing, we were ready to go, go, go so that wasn't a down side for us. Since we got most of the autographs and pictures on board, we were able to skip most of them at the parks where the lines were longer.

The drawbacks were as follows...
Pre-cruise - we boarded very tired. We actually skipped the sail away party last time we went pre-cruise in part because of this and opted to sail away on our balcony instead. At the end of our cruise, our vacation was over.

Post-cruise - we went home very tired and did not feel like we were recharged from vacation as we headed back to work. The biggest drawback though was already touched on - after being catered to and pampered on board, eating yummy food and not standing in long lines, it makes WDW feel a little less magical and the food does not taste as good to us.

If you've already tried pre-cruise, give post-cruise a try.

 

[su_A_ve]

I have been looking at the 5-day cruise over the Summer. I was trying to mix in a couple days before and after at WDW. The problem with that is the tickets. It makes it cost-ineffective because the MYW tickets won't span across cruise dates. We are now looking at possibly 2 days at Universal, a 6 days at WDW, then 5 day cruise, followed by a 9 hour drive home.

Tickets are good for 14 days from first use, regardless of Ho you buy them, either directly or as part of a MYW package.

A cruise in between is the same as doing a split stay. You want to do a package first, with tickets, followed by a room only reservation.

For the first package for say three nights, purchase a 5 or 6 day ticket. Use three days, go to cruise for 6, come back for another three.

 

[jamesez]

If you're cruising during a snowy time at home (e.g., January/February), you need to fly in a day in advance anyway (at least!) if there's any travel delays, so that's when we do the land part.

I also found it was more relaxing to cruise afterward.

 

[kingpinpearce]

This is my family's 2nd trip to WDW but our first Disney Cruise, in fact our first cruise ever as a family. We opted for WDW after because if our kids don't take well to being on a boat (and some people don't), their vacation isn't marred by that being the last experience they have. We know they love the parks, so it seemed to be the safer bet. I can totally see the other arguments as well. Fortunately for us, we fly home on a Friday, so we have 2 days to decompress before having to go back to work.

 

[Shamrock927]

We did WDW for a couple days before the cruise last year and it was great. For us, it gave our 2 year-old daughter a quick blast of fun before the more relaxing cruise and I also think it helped her ease into "being away" staying in a hotel first. We are dping the same thing this summer, spending a couple days at WDW before the cruise. I can absolutely see the benefits of both options, however, depending on your particular needs and preferences.

 

[Amy11]

For us it's better before because you need to fly in a day early anyway so as not to risk flight delays causing you to miss the boat. Also since the cruise ends on a weekend I'd rather visit parks on less crowded weekdays before.

We are leaving after the cruise on a 7:30 pm flight and are renting a car at the port and spending the day at WDW resorts & Disney Springs.

 

[sammykster]

I have always been in the before camp but I get so sad when vacation is over. This year we are going for 3 days before the cruise then heading to WDW for one night after to go to the Christmas party! This way we don't need a full day ticket and can get a little bit of park time and magic in before having to go home. Also, since we can't go to the park until 4 with the Christmas ticket it gives us a little more time to relax once we get to the resort and enjoy ourselves before feeling like we have to go go go.